This bill signing is a culmination of countless hours of work by Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) lobbyists, staff, and members. BATC spearheaded the legislative effort and was joined by the Builders Association of Minnesota and other business groups. BATC began the work of changing the variance law with pre-session efforts last summer and continued to carry forward the issue through the session to victory.

The new law removes the court-interpreted hardship standard and replaces it with a practical difficulties standard. This will create a variance review process very similar to the one used by municipalities prior the court decision. The new law takes effect tomorrow; contact your municipality for information on their process to resume consideration of variance requests.

This effort would not have been possible without the strong commitment of three key legislators to guide this bill through the process to its final passage. Bill authors Representative Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers) and Senator Gen Olson (R-Minnetrista), as well as Representative Mike Beard (R-Shakopee) were instrumental in making this happen. Please send them a brief note of appreciation for their exceptional efforts at rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn, sen.gen.olson@senate.mn, and rep.mike.beard@house.mn . We also recognize the efforts of our partner, the Builders Association of Minnesota, in today’s success.